After a marathon week of framing, a series of ten drawings from the circus book are ready to be exhibited this week at MARN headquarters (that’s the Milwaukee Artists Resource Network). The show is part of their salon events where artists can get works viewed and critiqued by a wide range of people including other artists, gallery owners, and the general public. In other words, it’s a chance to get valuable feedback from people who aren’t my relatives and close friends! And hopefully make some good connections at the same time.

It’s always simultaneously a frustrating mess and a joy to frame works that have been sitting finished for a while. A pain because there are always problems, wrong measurements, and costs involved, but a joy because it definitely ads to the look and makes it appear more finished… not to mention ready to share with the public.

Like the Tibia opera series, I wanted to use vintage frames and unorthodox matting materials to compliment the look and feel of the images. The frames I find at goodwill, value village, and antique stores usually fit the bill. But what I save in money I usually more than make up for in time. It takes a lot of work and a lot of thrift shopping to get it just how I want it. Not that I mind browsing those stores. I find some interesting clothes there too… as well as adding to my collection of beat-up jewelry boxes I’m going to do something with some day.